Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 226 to 250 of 4937 results

226. Giving

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Brett Blair

Robert Fulghum, who wrote All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, says that he placed alongside the mirror in his bathroom a picture of a woman who is not his wife. That's risky business! Every morning as he stood there shaving, he looked at the picture of that woman. The picture? The picture is of a small humped-over woman wearing sandals and a blue eastern robe and head dress (sari). She is surrounded by important-looking people in tuxedos, evening gowns, and the regalia of royalty. It is ...

227. The Way Of The King

1 Samuel 8:1-22

Sermon

Charles Curley

This sermon is built around a question, a question which I am not even going to try to answer. If this kind of sermon, one of questions not answers, disturbs you, then we are in trouble. But I'm prepared to leave you disturbed, for you are in good company. The question I find so hard to answer has disturbed and troubled the people of God since the time of Samuel the prophet. The way the question is put in the passage from 1 Samuel which was our scripture reading today is: "Is there any other way, for the ...

228. Praying All the Way

John 17:1-11

Sermon

April Yamasaki

If you could ask Jesus to pray for you, what would be your prayer request? One on-line prayer wall invites anyone to pray and lists the following requests: Please pray for jc and lb. They need to communicate and have forgiveness. Direction for my family, mental health completely restored, protection for my son, and direction for a job where God wants me to serve. Please pray that my mom gets better and gets out of her wheelchair soon, and she gets her mind back, and starts to remember who we all are. ...

229. The Way of the Lord

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Sermon

April Yamasaki

For Lent, one year, our worship committee planned to focus on a different name or title given to Jesus in scripture. When we read the story of Nicodemus, I was immediately drawn to Jesus as Savior, sent by God not to judge the world, but to save it. For Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, my sermon highlighted Jesus as king. When it came to the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, I first thought of Jesus as servant. That’s definitely part of our reading for today, which tells the ...

230. When the Way Is Hard

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Sermon

April Yamasaki

In the gospel of Matthew, the sweep of events from Judas’ decision to betray Jesus, through his arrest, trial, crucifixion, and burial takes less than fifteen minutes to read aloud. Yet the emotional intensity of these events makes for an exhausting read. Alone in my room, I could hardly make it through. If I were to read this as part of worship in my church, I’d want to skip the regular sermon and plan some silence to reflect and recover before we’d sing a song of response. Just imagine living and dying ...

231. Which Way To Jesus?

John 12:20-36

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

Great commotion was created in the holy city of Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of the Passover. On that occasion worshippers came from all over the Mediterranean world to fulfill their obligations at the Temple. A carnival atmosphere filled the precincts of the Temple with the commercial traffic that was created with the sale of animals for sacrifice and the exchange of foreign currency. Today the Holy Gospel takes us to the city during the festival. We are not in the court of the Temple but somewhere ...

232. When the Way Means Staying Home

John 11:1-45

Sermon

April Yamasaki

A fellow pastor once remarked that a church in our city would need to grow by ten to fifteen percent a year just to stay the same size. His evidence was clearly anecdotal without any survey data or other numbers to back up his comment, but I understood his point. People move from church to church and across denominations. Some people fall ill and become unable to attend as regularly. Some pass from this life to the next. There’s movement in and out of our busy urban and suburban area. One family from our ...

233. Repent Your Way To A Merry Christmas

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

A number of years ago a couple traveled to the offices of an Adoption Society in England to receive a baby. They had been on the waiting list a long time. They had been interviewed and carefully scrutinized. Now at last their dreams were to be fulfilled. But their day of happiness was another's pain. Arriving at the offices of the Society they were led up a flight of stairs to a waiting room. After a few minutes they heard someone else climbing the stairs. It was the young student mother whose baby was to ...

234. Repent Your Way To A Merry Christmas

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Brett Blair

235. The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Acts 20:13-38

Sermon

James Merritt

Let me begin with a story of a Christmas that a certain young man would never forget. It was the first time that he had been given money by his parents so he could go and buy them a Christmas gift. For several years he was always getting something from his parents, but never giving anything to his parents. He finally realized one day, “Something is wrong with this picture.” Being too young to work and not being smart enough to ask for an allowance he went to his mom and dad and offered to do some extra ...

236. Giving with Open Hands

Mark 12:41-44

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

A couple stands before the pastor in the midday service. He asks, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” The father says, “I do.” Then the father takes the right hand of the bride in his right hand and places it into the right hand of the pastor who, in turn, places it in the right hand of the groom. The vows are given, and the groom, having taken the right hand of the bride, says, “I, John, take thee, Mary, to be my wedded wife.” Dropping hands, the bride offers her right hand to the groom and ...

237. A Pattern For Giving And Living

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some time ago I came across a letter which expressed an idea with which I want to begin today. The letter was from a college student to her parents. She said: Dear Mom and Dad: I'm sorry that it has been such a long time since my last letter, but I didn't want to bother you with the fire in the dormitory and the concussion I received falling out the window trying to escape. I want you to know how nice the young service station attendant around the corner was. He provided me comfort all the time that I ...

238. With Gratitude and Humility

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

April Yamasaki

On a recent trip out of town, I stayed at a hotel that offered a complimentary breakfast. After serving myself from the generous buffet, I decided to send a photo of my breakfast to my sisters just for fun. I re-arranged the country-fried potatoes on my plate, moved the sausage patty and hard-boiled egg so they were nestled beside the potatoes, with the watermelon and other fresh fruit filling the rest of the plate. With my cup of herbal tea and cutlery to the right, and my newspaper to the upper left, the ...

239. Heaven: One Way And One Way Only

John 14:1-6

Sermon

James Merritt

There are so many songs about heaven; so many thoughts about heaven. One song just asked the question, "How far is heaven?" The answer is that heaven can be as close as your heart or it can be an eternity away. Contrary to one world view that says that the only heaven there is, is the happiness that we experience here on earth, Jesus Christ definitely believed in a place called heaven. In the very passage that we are looking at today, He told his disciples - "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; ...

240. One-Way Street

John 14:5-14

Sermon

James Merritt

It is one of the most photographed streets in America. It is one of the most famous streets in America. Amazingly, it is only one block long, yet tourists will come from all over the world and rent a car just to drive on this street. You may not recognize the name of the street, but you will most probably recognize the picture of it. [Show photo of Lombard Street in San Francisco] This is Lombard Street in San Francisco. The hill is so steep that it would be too dangerous for most vehicles to travel in ...

241. The Law of the Temple

Ezekiel 43:13-27, Ezekiel 44:1-31, Ezekiel 45:1-12, Ezekiel 45:13--46:24

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

At the center of Ezekiel 40–48 in its final form is a law code. It is the only body of law in the Hebrew Bible that is not ascribed to Moses. This material falls into three parts: an introduction (43:10–27), the main body of the law code (44:1–46:18), and an appendix dealing with the temple kitchens (46:19–24). The law code itself deals broadly with access to the divine presence by right priesthood and right liturgy. These chapters also describe a secular leader (called the nasiʾ, the term generally used ...

242. Giving Away the Store

Luke 22:7-38, John 13:1-17

Sermon

Carl Jech

He will show you a large upper room furnished. (Luke 22:12) If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. (John 13:14) A friend of mine once had a job briefly at a car rental agency. The job didn't last for long because the owner of the agency complained that my friend was too nice, too diplomatic with the customers. He felt that if my friend were left alone he would probably end up giving the cars away - "giving away the store!" The idea behind this ...

243. What To Give The God Who Has Everything

Psalm 50:1-23

Sermon

Erskine White

"Make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God ..." (v. 14) With Thanksgiving near and Christmas not far behind, I wonder if any of you have people who are very difficult to shop for, people for whom it is very difficult to decide what to give. The two hardest people on my shopping list were always my grandparents. Especially as the years went by, I found myself asking, "What do you give to people who already have everything?" New sweaters or potholders or neckties didn’t mean very much, since they were already ...

244. Living Life The Easy Way

Acts 3:1-10

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Life is composed of a series of choices and experiences. Usually there is an easy way to accomplish a particular task and there is a hard way to achieve the same end. Many people experience addictions, burnout and nervous breakdowns not because of the sheer weight of their life, but because they fight life. Many people have trouble with college, not because college is hard, but because they fight college. Instead of doing something the best they can, and doing it as easily as they can, they fight the job, ...

245. Giving Back to Caesar

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Late one night in Washington, D.C. a mugger wearing a ski mask jumped into the path of a well‑dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs. “Give me your money!” he demanded. Indignant, the affluent man replied, “You can’t do this to me . . . I’m a US Congressman!” “In that case,” replied the robber, “give me back MY money!” (1) Ah, the “Infernal Revenue Service”--in one form or another, they have always been with us. You know the story. The Pharisees were concerned about Jesus’ growing popularity. They ...

246. Since He's In Charge, We're In Luck

Psalm 33:4-5, 8-9, 13-22

Sermon

Robert G. McCreight

Introduction At the turn of the century the storm clouds that had long been gathering in South Africa suddenly broke loose. Britain and the English-speaking South Africans went to war with the Dutch-descended Boers. The British newspaper, The Morning Post, offered a young reporter by the name of Winston Churchill the job of chief war correspondent to cover the story. He jumped at the chance. Soon after he arrived in South Africa he was traveling on a troop train when it was captured and he was taken ...

247. God's Way or the Highway

Matthew 7:13-14

Sermon

James Merritt

One of America's best known theologians tells the story of how he was talking to his five- year-old son, and he asked him two questions. First of all, he said, "Are you sure that when you die you will go to heaven?" The little boy said, "Yes, Daddy, I am." He then asked him the second question. "If you were to die tonight and God said to you, ‘Why should I let you into my Heaven?' what would you answer?" His little boy didn't hesitate. He said immediately, "Because I'm dead." Now believe it or not, that is ...

248. Are You Giving Up Chocolate for Valentine's Day?

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

King Duncan

Welcome on this Valentine’s Day. It is ironic that this is also the First Sunday in Lent. Lent is generally that season of the year when people have chosen a favorite treat or some vice to give up for these six weeks. One man said his children traditionally gave up something like candy for Lent. Last year, however, he urged them to go beyond that to giving up some habit or sin that they knew was bad for them. About halfway through Lent he asked the children how they were doing with their Lenten promise. ...

249. The Way to Happy Endings

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Sermon

James L. Killen

Genesis 24 is like a short novel that is set into the end of the story of Abraham. It is a lot like the kind of stories that many of you like to read -- and it has a happy ending. In the story, Abraham sends his oldest and most trusted servant back to the country from which Abraham and Sarah had come many years before. His mission is to find a wife for their son, Isaac. He wants the servant to find for Isaac "a girl just like the girl that married dear old dad." The servant went, taking gifts, and praying ...

250. More Than "Turkey Day" (New) Thanksgiving

2 Chronicles 9:1-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Although many countries and cultures have some type of ceremony for celebrating their blessings, no one celebrates Thanksgiving quite the way we do in the U.S. And for good reason. Few people on earth have as much for which to be thankful. Nightline host Ted Koppel emigrated to the U.S. from England in his early teen years. The Koppels were originally from Germany, but moved to England at the start of World War II. They had lived through food rationing, and had known the scarcity and desperation that ...

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